• Home
  • About Chambanamoms.com
    • Press/Awards
    • Meet the Chambanamoms.com Staff
    • Write For Us
  • Advertise
  • FAQ
  • Contact

ChambanaMoms.com

The Top Online Resource for Champaign-Urbana Area Families

  • New to C-U?
  • In Season
    • Spring
      • Spring Break Camp
      • Things To Do Over Spring Break
      • Easter Brunch
      • Easter Bunny
    • Summer
      • Summer Camps
      • Summer Fun on a Budget
      • Free Summer Concerts
      • Summer Reading Programs
      • Ultimate Outdoor Summer
      • C-U Fairs and Festivals
      • Day Trips
    • Fall
      • Apples, Pumpkins & Corn Mazes
      • Ultimate Outdoor Fall
      • Halloween Fun
      • Fall Festivals
      • Fall on a Budget
      • Take Fall Family Photos
    • Winter
      • Ultimate Outdoor Winter
      • Best Sledding Hills
      • Holiday Events and Activities
      • Shop Local for the Holidays
      • Holiday Lights in C-U
  • [ Event Calendar ]
    • Submit an Event
  • Eat + Drink
    • Favorite Foods Around C-U
    • Kids Eat Free
    • Restaurant Openings & Closings
    • Eat Healthy
    • Farmer’s Markets
  • News
    • Business
    • COVID-19
  • Need to Know
    • Area Parks and Playgrounds
    • Special Needs
    • Kids Classes & Teams
    • Schools
    • Childcare
    • Summer Camp
    • Birthday Parties
    • All Things Baby
    • Your Child’s Health
    • Healthy Living
    • Date Night
    • Travel Beyond C-U
  • Weekend Planner
    • Get the Planner
Chambanamoms.com is the top online resource for families in the Champaign-Urbana area.
Learn More | Advertise
You are here: Home / Outdoor Fun / A Must See: the Peony Garden at Allerton Park

A Must See: the Peony Garden at Allerton Park

May 6, 2020 By Kathy Richards

Allerton’s Peony Garden showcases nearly 70 named varieties and thousands of blooms for families to enjoy

Editor’s Note: Some areas of Allerton Park may be closed or otherwise have limited access. As of May 4, the Peony Garden is open to the public, but the Visitor’s Center, Greenhouse Café, and most restrooms are closed. See Allerton’s Facebook page for the most recent visitor guidelines.

Allerton Park and Retreat Center in Monticello, owned by the University of Illinois, is billed as one of the Seven Wonders of Illinois. Whoever makes these lists has probably visited Allerton during the month of May, when the Peony Garden is at the peak of its flowery magnificence.

Peony Garden at Allerton Park
Photo credit: Kathy Richards

Robert Allerton and his family built and maintained the Allerton estate and its gardens, mostly during the 1920s and ’30s, before deeding the property to the University of Illinois in 1946. The peony, already featured in its own garden, was supposedly one of Robert’s favorite flowers. The Peony Garden was revived in the early 2000s following a period of neglect, and thanks to continued financial support from donors it thrives today and is nationally renowned among peony lovers.

Know before you go

— Peonies most commonly bloom in Illinois around Mother’s Day in mid-May, but the multiple varieties (almost 70!) planted at Allerton generate almost continual bloom from late April all the way into June. Check Allerton’s handy bloom guides, here and here, to see what other flowers may be blooming during your visit.

— Other areas of Allerton’s grounds are probably more appealing to little ones, either for the fanciful statues, the long gravel paths, or the uninterrupted swaths of grass. The Peony Garden will definitely appeal more to your budding botanist (ha!), although the garden does feature one famous sculpture, a replica of the Louvre’s “Three Graces” by Germain Pilon. If you come to Allerton with young companions, we advise you subject them to the Peony Garden first, before you break out the snacks and let them loose to explore elsewhere.

Pink Allerton peonies
Photo credit: Kathy Richards

— Closest parking to the Peony Garden is located off Old Timber Road, in the Visitor’s Center Parking Lot. The Visitor’s Center is unstaffed; when open, it is a self-guided resource with maps, displays, restrooms, and beverage vending. There is no admission charge to Allerton, although donations are encouraged.

— For many years, adventurous visitors could view the Peony Garden from above on a raised walkway. To the relief of most parents, access to that wall has been closed for decades due to disrepair.

— Adjacent to the Peony Garden, the Bulb Garden offers a similar abundance of blooms per step, if that’s your thing. Renewal of this area began in 2016 and the garden is maintained in memory of U of I professor Mark E. Roszkowski. Its design uses principles of landscape architecture from Robert Allerton’s time, and uses both bulbs and annual plants to ensure continuous blooming throughout the season. So even if you miss the blooming window of the Peony Garden, there will still be plenty of floral beauty at Allerton for you to enjoy.

Field of red peonies
Photo credit: Kathy Richards

— Inspired to plant a peony at home? As perennials, peonies reliably come back every year. Some peonies happily last decades in the same spot. They thrive in full sun to part shade, prefer an area with well-drained soil, and stay largely disease-free if you remove the dead foliage in the fall. Taller varieties can benefit from some anti-flopping support (like those green rings people sometimes stake above them in the spring); otherwise just leave them alone. Choose a fragrant variety if you can — they smell heavenly — and if the nursery tag says it is resistant to powdery mildew, so much the better.

Allerton Park Reopens Outdoor Areas in May | Visiting Allerton Park With Your Family | Greenhouse Cafe at Allerton Park | Best Places to See Flowers in Champaign-Urbana | 6 Places to Experience Nature with Kids near Champaign-Urbana | Where to Take Spring Family Photos in Champaign-Urbana | Gardens and Flower Farms in Champaign-Urbana and Beyond

Filed Under: Free Activities, Outdoor Fun, Spring Activities, Things To Do in CU Tagged With: allerton, Allerton Park and Retreat Center, monticello, Mother's Day, peonies, Peony, Peony Garden, University of Illinois

Get the Chambanamoms.com Weekend Planner (It’s Free!)

Enter your email address to receive email updates. We respect your email privacy.


Copyright © 2021 | Terms of Use | Disclaimer | Disclosure | Privacy Policy | Comment Policy | Contact